JAXA confirms Hayabusa 2 blasted crater on asteroid Ryugu
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Japan’s space agency confirmed on April 25 that its Hayabusa 2 space probe successfully created a crater on the surface of Ryugu after firing a metal projectile earlier in the month, the first-ever manmade crater on an asteroid.
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“It was a great success, making such a clear crater,” said Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency project manager Yuichi Tsuda. “I’m so delighted I’m jumping for joy.”
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The unmanned spacecraft created the crater near the asteroid’s equator by firing a 2-kilogram copper mass into the asteroid at high speed from a “small carry-on impactor” device that separated from the probe above Ryugu.
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An explosive inside the device was set off to fire the copper mass at the surface of the asteroid, about 300 million kilometers from Earth.
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The round-shaped crater was confirmed to be estimated about 10 meters in diameter by comparing images of the asteroid surface captured by the Hayabusa 2 probe before and after the impact, taken 1.7 km above the surface.
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The latest image shows clear dents and traces from which rocks and gravel were flung from the distant “spinning top” asteroid following the impact.
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The depth of the crater remains unknown at this time.
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Water and organic matter dating back some 4.6 billion years ago, around the time the solar system was formed, are believed to remain in a pristine state inside the rocks beneath the surface of Ryugu.
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The probe will land on the rocky asteroid to collect samples of sand, gravel and stones inside the crater as early as late May.
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If the probe succeeds in its mission, it could lead to unlocking the mystery of how the solar system was formed as well as where water on Earth originated.
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